DSC01744.JPGOne of the fun things that we did at the Fling was to have everyone sign a 6 ft. tall Sock Blocker for Loopy Central. (I did get some funny looks as I was carrying this big “sock” through the hotel. Some guy accused me of being a Red Sox fan, FPS!) I found the perfect place to hang it in our foyer, so that we can remember all of the fun people who were here for our first Spring Fling. (I photoed it with the door in the picture so that you Flingers would be able to picture where it is, now that you’ve been here in person.) I wonder how many of these will fit on the walls here? I guess when we’re out of wall space, we’ll stop having Flings? (Or move. Yeah, that’s a better idea. We’ll move and get more wall space.) Now I get to walk by the Big Blocker every morning, and think of all of you as I start work! It’s very handy to have a hubby who can make such things. :-)

DSC01742.JPGHere is a picture of the Goody Bags that we gave to everyone when they checked in. It includes the red/black backpack (which I liked a lot because it has pockets and straps and is designed vertically instead of being a horizontal carrying bag). Inside was a skein of Wollmeise which Claudia dyed up for me just for the Spring Fling. (This is the first time she has done more muted colors - it almost looks like a watercolor painting of meadows and sea - which makes it a very special colorway, indeed.) We also included a pattern and samples from Cherry Tree Hill and Claudia Hand Painted (enough to make some sock blocker keychains or mini socks), some wonderful “Everything Balm” from Goodies Unlimited, a brand new pattern from Wendy and one from Cookie A (along with my favorite new heavy vinyl “pattern holder” - I use these all the time when I knit), a Loopy Ewe coffee mug (no, we can’t sell them because we don’t want to ship them, but they were perfect for giving away in person!) and of course some Loopy Kisses. We had a great time putting these together for everyone. And now, you have a chance to win one! Remember when I told you about April’s blog contest and gave you all month to do three random acts of kindness? Today is the day to report in and leave your comments as to what you found to do for others this month! You need to have done three RAKs to be entered into the random drawing, and I will draw the name a week from today. If we have a lot of entries, I’m happy to draw for 2 or 3 Goodie Bags. We love giving away prizes. So leave a comment with your RAKs and inspire all the rest of us to get out there and do the same!

DSC01746.JPGNo Sneak Up this week, but we have wonderful things in store for you next week. All of the shirts, hats, and sweatshirts will go up. (Don’t worry - we ordered a lot and still have multiplies in all sizes. The Flingers didn’t clear us out!) We also have more Pattern Tamers, a fun Loopy Necklace, Lawre’s Laine BigBags (ohsogorgeous), Duets, Schaefer Anne, Yarn Love, Seawool Fiber Roving from Creatively Dyed, Cashmere Sock Yarn from Perchance to Knit, and possibly (depending on how much time we have to get photos done) two new indie dyers - Beyond Basic Knits and Enchanted Knoll Farms.

Guess what? It’s time to Take Loopy on Vacation again! He had such a wonderful mix of adventures last summer and he has been bugging us about it all winter long. He’s ready to go again! Beginning with orders placed on May 1st, we’ll be including a Loopy Postcard in your order while supplies last. (We will plan to send one postcard with your first order in May. If for some reason you need a second postcard with your next May order, just leave us an order note.) I know that a lot of you have your very own Little Loopy, and it’s perfectly acceptable to pose and photo Little Loopy on your vacation, instead of the postcards. We’ll leave it up to you as to which you prefer. We’ll start a new ‘08 edition of Loopy’s Summer Photo Gallery next week so that you can start sharing his adventures. We will have prizes at the end of the summer again, and will have you vote in several categories, so get photo-ing. Last year we had prizes for: Best faraway place that Loopy visited, most famous person that he met, most creative photo with Loopy, and most unusual place he visited. If you have any more fun ideas for additional categories, email me and I’ll share them on a future blog post.

Winners of the Q1-08 Challenge - for “randomly drawn from all entries” the winner is: Juli’s skirt. For the Reader’s Choice award from those who voted: Jennifer’s Venezia. Each wins a $25 gift certificate to The Loopy Ewe. Congratulations to you both! Don’t forget our Q2-08 Challenge that runs between now and the end of June. :-)

I had an email from Claudia this morning and she has arrived safely back in Germany. Her family is glad to have her back, but I miss her!

Sheri stillwaaaaybehindonemailsbutIpromiseI’mpluggingawayonthem!